Chapters 1, 2, & 3

What argument does Milgram make that Eichmann
was an "uninspired bureaucrat"?

What does Milgram cite as the "most
fundamental lesson" of his study?

Do the subjects know what "ought to be done"
in the Milgram study?

What keeps the subject obeying the
experimenter?

What shift in moral concern occurs for
subjects in the study?

Why would subjects devalue the
victim?

Why were Yale students not used in the
studies?

Why would it be important to balance the
occupations and ages of subjects?

Why is the "cover story" about learning
important in the study. Could Milgram have gotten by without
deceiving his subjects?

Why would it be important to have the teacher
announce the shock level each time?

Why was it important to have the subject
shouting his protests?

Chapters 4, 5, & 6

What 6 things in addition to "closeness" was
this manipulation changing? Can you think of others?

How does tension point toward the strength of
"binding forces," forces pushing the subject to disobey, and to
the realism of the situation?

Why must "a line be drawn between listening
carefully to what the subject says and mistaking it for the whole
story"?

What differences occur in who the subjects
think is responsible for the victim's suffering?

Why did the move to the basement and the
addition of the "heart condition" make little difference in
obedience?

Why would closeness of the authority make a
difference in obedience?

What differences did women show in their stint
as subjects?

What finding shows that "the social contract
doctrine is a feeble determinant of behavior"?

What did moving the experiment to Bridgeport
do to the results of the study?

Why is it important to allow subjects to shock
the victim at any level they want?

Chapters 7, 8, & 9

Why was it important for Mrs. Dontz to "know
what rights I have"?

Explain Mrs. Rosenblum's insistence in the
returned questionnaire that she had not really believed that the
victim was being shocked.

When an ordinary man gives the orders to
shock, what happens to obedience?

What could we manipulate to get people to
listen to the "ordinary man"?

Why are people heroic in the "bystander"
study, but passive in the "peer administers shocks" study
(experiment 18 in chapter 9)?

Why do subjects stop shortly after the
conflicting orders from experimenters?

What are the differences between conformity
and obedience?

What kinds of information does the subject get
when peers rebel?

What other factors could contribute to
subjects increased disobedience?

Why do subjects go all the way when another
person is doing the shock?

Chapter 10

What is the survival value of a
hierarchy?

Why is "instinct" not a good explanation for
obedience?

Why does the homeostatic model need an
inhibitor?

How is the inhibitor similar to a
superEgo?

When is an inhibitory model essential in a
social organization?

Why does variability pose a problem for
function in a group? How does hierarchy overcome it?

What is the "agentic shift"? How is it
different from autonomy?

How do the cybernetic models fit in the move
between autonomy and agentic states?

Chapter 11

What are the antecedent conditions for
obedience? How can they increase or decrease
obedience?

Why is ideology important in establishing
conditions for obedience?

What are the properties of the agentic
state?

Explain tuning, redefining of meaning, loss of
responsibility, and self image as they relate to
obedience.

Does morality disappear in the agentic
state?

What are the binding factors that keep a
person in the agentic state?

Chapter 12

What is strain?

What are some of the sources of
strain?

Why are buffers important in reducing
strain?

What ways do people reduce strain?

How are the ways of reducing strain
ordered?

Chapter 14

Are the people studied in the experiment any
different from "regular folks"? Why might we be tempted to think
so?

Did subjects actually believe they were
shocking the victim? Cite evidence supporting belief?

Can we generalize from this study to the "real
world"?

Is the comparison of combustion to obedience
reasonable?

Epilogue & Appendices

Identify Antecedent conditions, binding
factors, the agentic state, consequences, strain, and strain
resolution mechanisms in the transcript of the My Lai interview
and Milgram's description of military life.

What do you think of the ethical issues
surrounding Milgram's studies?

What does Milgram identify as "the central
moral justification" for allowing his experimental
procedure?

What differences in responsibility assignment
occurred between obedient and disobedient subjects? How, in terms
of Milgram's model, can we explain these differences?